GUIDELINES FOR SEMINAR I: LITERATURE REVIEW

1) What is literature Review?

A literature review is a summary of studies related to a particular area of research.
It identifies and summarizes all the relevant research conducted on a particular
topic. It is important that your literature review is focused. Therefore, you should
choose a limited number of studies that are central to your topic rather than
trying to collect a wide range of studies that might not be closely connected.

When reading your literature, take special note of the following to help you in
your presentation:
 What question or problem is the author addressing?
 What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
 What are the key theories, models and methods? Does the research use
established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
 What are the results and conclusions of the study?
 How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it
confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
 How does the publication contribute to your understanding of the topic?
What are its key insights and arguments?
 What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

2) Importance of literature Review

Literature review helps you accomplish the following:
 Evaluate past research: Collecting relevant resources will help you see
what research has already been done. This will also help avoid duplication.
 Identify key questions: your ultimate aim is to bring something new to the
conversation. Collecting resources will help you determine the important
questions that need to be addressed in your work.
 Determine methodologies used in past studies: Knowing how others have
approached a particular topic will give you the opportunity to identify
problems and find new ways to research and study a topic. If the reported
methodology was successful, you can use it and save time that you would
otherwise be spending on optimization.

Guidelines to help you present your literature Review for Seminar I

1. Introduce the topic: This is your research topic and should appear on the
title page (slide 1)
2. Introduction: establish the significance of the study (give some
background on the topic and its importance, discuss the scope of the
literature you will review: about 2 to 3 slides: check notes on significance
of the study below)
3. Provide an overview of the relevant literature (develop this following the
guidelines in Question 1 above; the different slides can carry different
themes based on your reading; about 3 to 4 slides)
4. Establish a context for the study using the literature (e.g. briefly describe
the field you will be researching; explain why this field is important; state
what are the currently trending topics of interest or "hot topics" in this field
and describe the specific area within the field that you will be researching.
5. Identify knowledge gaps (e.g. what is missing from the literature? Are
there weaknesses that need to be addressed? 2 to 3 slides)
6. Illustrate how the study (your research topic) will advance knowledge
on the topic (2 to 3 slides)
 7. Conclusion: you should summarize the key findings you have taken from
the literature and emphasize their significance (1 slide).
8. Some of the references used (1 slide)

NB: Strive that your powerpoint presentation should not exceed 15 slides
(excluding the title, presentation outline, reference and the thank you slides). In
total (taking all) you should have 18 slides.
 Guidelines for Seminar II: Research Proposal
1. Title/Topic: This is just a tentative title/topic (ideally not longer than 16
words)
for the intended research. Once approved, it can be subject to modification in the
course of the research implementation (Slide 1).

2. Introduction / Background: This is set to explain the broad background against

which the research will be conducted. It should give a summary of the current state
of knowledge and recent debates on the topic (that is what has been done at the
global, African and research context; existing knowledge gaps, etc). It should also
include a brief overview of the general area of study (study site: the area where
research study will take place) within which the proposed research falls (2 to 3
slides).

3. Statement of Problem: It is a brief overview of the issues or problems existing

in the concerned area selected for the research which made the researcher to take
interest in the topic for in-depth study and analysis, so as to understand and solve
them. This focuses on why the study will be undertaken, or why the thesis will be
written (2 slides).

4. Research Question (s): A research question is an answerable inquiry into a

specific concern or issue. It is the initial step in a research project. The 'initial step'
means after you have an idea of what you want to study, the research question is
the first active step in the research project. The research question should be a
clear, focused question that summarizes the issue that the researcher will
investigate. Without a question, you can't have a hypothesis (1 slide).
5. Hypothesis (optional, but I advice you include it because during the last
theses defenses, external examiners were requesting for it): the research
hypothesis states what the researcher expects to find (expected outcome or
expected results following the research questions posed) – it is the tentative answer
to the research question that guides the entire study (1 slide).

6. Objectives
- Main Objective: The objectives provide an accurate description of the specific
actions you will take in order to reach the aim of the study. As with the problem
formulation, the overall objective should be framed in a single sentence. The
overall objective should be written as an infinitive sentence.
- Specific Objectives: A specific objective consists of one infinitive sentence and
should be phrased in a way that makes it possible to draw a conclusion from
within the scope of the thesis. The more precisely you formulate your specific
objectives, the simpler it will be to define the type of study and which method(s)
you will use in your further research. The specific objectives should be in line with
the research questions. (the main and specific objectives should occupy 1 slide)

7. Scope of the Study: Aspects/area that your work will focus on and why (1
slide).

8. Significance of the study: explain why your research is important (for example,
by explaining how your research builds on and adds to the current state of
knowledge in the field or by setting out reasons why it is timely to research your
proposed topic; 1 or 2 slides).
9. Theoretical / conceptual framework: A theoretical structure of assumptions,
principles, and rules that holds together the ideas comprising a broad concept. It
involves variables such as independent variables and dependent variables that form
a topic of a research study. The purpose of conceptual framework is to test the
theories, make research findings more meaningful and generalizable, stimulate
situation and predict and control the research situation (1 slide; usually in the form
of an organizational chart on the principles and designs to be used in the work).

10. Materials and Methods:

- Research design: refers to the overall strategy that you choose to integrate the
different components of the study in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring
you will effectively address the research problem (e.g. it includes information on
the method of collection, measurement, and analysis of data).
- Population of study area / sample size: A population commonly contains too
many individuals to study conveniently, so an investigation is often restricted to
one or more samples (e.g. could be localities within a particular city) drawn from
it. The researcher(s) can use formula to compute the population into percentages in
order to determine the sample size to use.
- Data collection and Analysis: The proposal should outline your research
methods, explaining how the research will be conducted. The methods may include
visiting particular libraries or archives, field work or interviews, or laboratory
and/or field experiments. For each specific objective given, a method should be
given on how it will be realized. This section should also explain how you are
going to analyze your research findings. (all of materials and methods should be
on 2 or 3 slides)
11. Budget and Timeframe: This consists of a table highlighting monetary value
of the activities and items required to implement the proposed research and the
proposed time required to implement each activity. (1 slide)
12. References: The proposal should include a short bibliography identifying the
most relevant works for your topic (1 slide).

NB: Your powerpoint presentation should not exceed 16 slides (with the exclusion
of the title slide, presentation outline, reference and thank you slides). Which
means in total (taking all slides) you should have at most 20 slides.